Sean Strickland defeats Khamzat Chimaev by split decision to win UFC middleweight title

Sean Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to become the new UFC middleweight champion. The analyst noted a puzzling moment in the second round when Chimaev suddenly fell to his back mid-fight, though he continued fighting afterward without appearing injured. Chimaev appeared to conserve energy in the third round and avoided wrestling entirely, which was unusual given he controlled 4 minutes and 44 seconds in the first round. The analyst suggests Chimaev was not as well-prepared functionally as he was for his fight with Dricus Du Plessis, potentially due to weight cut difficulties. The mysterious second-round incident remains unexplained.